Buttonhole attachment for sewing machines



4 ug. G, 34. J. HICKEY 2,4@,253

I BUTTONHDLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 13, 19443'Sheets$heet l INVENTOR JAMES HICKEY ATTORNEYS 9 H J. HIICKEY IBUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov.13, 1944 INVENTOR ,HLCKEY ATTORNEYS Aug. 6, 1946. J K Y I V 2,465,253

BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 13, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Egg MW Ill INVENTOR JAMES HICKEY ATTQRNEYS Patented Aug.6, 1946 UNITED STATES FATENT caries nU'r'roNnoLn ATTACHMENTFOR sE WiNGMACHINES James Hickey, Portland, Oreg. Application November 13, 1944,Serial No. 563,221

6 Claims. (01. 112-47) This invention relates to devices adapted toperform the necessary stitching in the finishing of buttonholes.

More specifically, this invention relates to removable buttonholeattachments suitable for use with an ordinary sewing machine.

Buttonhole attachments equipped to perform zig-zag stitching around abuttonhole are more or less common. However, I have found that a faultwith a number of devices of this type is that they do not provide fordouble length zigzag stitches at the ends of the hole or slit in thecloth. Such double length stitches are desirable for reinforcingthe endsof the buttonhole and for preventing the buttonhole from stretching ortearing. Such double length stitching is provided for in some of thespecial buttonhole machines but these involve quite complicatedmechanism and are generally not mere ate tachments for ordinary sewingmachines.

The object of this invention is to provide means for performing suchdouble length end stitching with a simple buttonhole attachment,suitable for use with ordinary sewing machines, whenever such doublelength stitching is desired.

A further object is to control the double length stitching, so that itmay or may not be performed, and also arrange to have the double lengthstitching performed automatically when desired.

An additional object of this invention is to provide for suchimprovement in a simple, practical and inexpensive manner so that theimprovement can be incorporated in ordinary buttonhole attachments atvery small additional cost.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View, in isometric perspective, of a portion of anordinary sewing machine head with my improved attachment secured inplace, and also showing a piece of cloth on which the desired buttonholestitching has been performed.

Figure 2 is a medial longitudinal sectional elevation viewed from thefar side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevation of the attachment viewed from the far side ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a staggered plan section corre sponding to the line 4-4 ofFigure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse section corresponding to the line55 of Figure 4, showing the end of the restriction bracket in normalraised position;

Figure 6 is a similar fragmentary transverse section but showing therestriction bracket in lowered position;

Figure 7 is a view inperspective of certain individual members in mydevice illustrating the same separated from each other for the sake ofclarity but arranged more or less in their re-.

lated order;

Figure 8 is a .plan section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 3;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary .plan view of some of the .bottom members ofmy device illustrating the operation of the restriction bracket when thebracket is in the raised position shown in Figure 5;and I Figure 10 is asimilar fragmentary plan view illustrating the operation of therestriction bracket and stitch-control lever when the restrictionbracket is in the lowered position of Figure 6. g j

Referring firstito Figure 1, the buttonhole rattachment is secured inthe customary manner to the sewing Qmachine presser foot bar it afterthe usual cloth-engaging element has been re, moved from the base of thepresser foot bar.

The attachment carries its own cloth-engaging element [8 which rests onand engages the cloth it when the machine presser foot bar has beendropped to lowered position in the sewing machine head IG. I

The cloth-engaging element is is in the usual form of a hollow rectangleand the sewing machine needle i3 passes through the opening in the same,the opening being wide enough to provide for the maximum length ofzig-zag stroke as the cloth is moved back and forth under the sewingmachine needle by the attachment. The cloth-engaging element 58 has theusual serrated bottom surface to grip the cloth and to move it back andforth under the needle, resulting in the familiar zig zag buttonholemachine stitching.

The attachment includes an integral frame it having side portions andbottom connecting strips and also having alhorizontally extending forkedarm 16 which is connected to the presser foot bar I 1 in the customarymanner. The feed blade H (see also Figure 7) restsloosely in the framel5, by which it is reciprocally and slidably supported, and thecloth-engaging element! is attached below the forward end of the feedblade I! as usual. The feed blade I! is formed with a pair oflongitudinal slots ll and also has an integral slotted arm 9 at one sideextending vertically upward.

A lever arm 29 (see Figures 1 and 3), pivotally mountedO the frame itfor up and down movement'has a forked end 3! which is adapted to beattached tothe needle carrier H of the sewing machine and thus isreciprocated up and down with the movement of the needle carrier andneedle l3. The arm 29 carries a pawl 35 (Figure 3) which engages aratchet 34. The ratchet 34 is secured to a shaft 33 on which is alsosecured the central cam wheel 32. The periphery of the cam wheel 32engages the upstanding lugs 31 (see also Figures 4 and 7) mounted in thestitch control lever' 36. Thus reciprocation of the arm 29, by producingstep by step rotation of the cam wheel 32, also produces correspondingreciprocation or oscillation sideways of the stitch control lever 36. Adownwardly extending tongue 38 at the forward end of the stitch controllever 38 engages a slot in the feed blade l1. Consequently, the feedblade l1, and with it. the cloth. which is engaged by the element |8 ofthe feed blade, reciprocates sideways at each stroke ofthe needle, whichresults in the zig-zag stitch common to buttonhole machines andattachments.

The arm 29 (Figure 3) has a rear shoulder 39 which is adapted to engagea ratchet member 22, and the ratchet member 22 in turn is connected bymeans (not shown) to a shaft 2|, and this part of the mechanism is soarranged as to produce slower step by step rotation of the shaft 2| asthe arm 29 reciprocates.

A disk secured to the end of shaft 2| adjacent the vertical arm H! ofthe feed blade (see Figures 1 and 4) has a crank pin 29' which engagesthe slot in the vertical arm l9. Thus, as the crank disk 29 rotatesslowly, the feedblade is gradually moved longitudinally, first in onedirection and then in the opposite direction, while at the same time thefeed blade is constantly reciprocated sideways. V

A cam disk 23, shown most clearlyin Figures 4 and 7, is formed with twooppositely off-set similar portions so that nearly one-half of theperiphery lies in one vertical plane while a similar portion of theperiphery lies in another verticalplane spaced from the first. Theperiphery of thislcam disk 23 engages a pair of upstanding lugs 26 (seeFigures 2 and 3) carried on a lever 24, which is pivotally mounted atand which in turn is connected to an adjustable leverarm 21. The forward,end of lever arm 21 has a downwardly-extending tongue .28 which engagesa slot H in the feed blade This connection between cam disk 23 and feedblade ordinarily causes the zig-zag stitching to be performed along oneside of the buttonhole slit as the feed blade i1 is moved longitudinallyin one direction and on the other side as the feed blade is movedlongitudinally in the reverse direction. a I

The construction which I have described thus far is for the most partwell known and common to a familiar type of buttonhole attachment. -1shall now explain the particular improvements which I have developed." Vr r The stitch control lever 36, the upstanding lugs 31 ofwhich areengaged by the-cam wheel 32,

and which in turn transmits horizontal reciprocal movement sideways tothe feed blade I1, is formed with an upwardly extending tongue 39 at therearend. The upper half of this tongue is considerably narrowed as shownat 49 in Figure '7. A restriction bracket 4|, the shape of which is alsoshown more clearly in Figure "I, carries a rear cross bar 43 which isprovided with a slot 44. The length of the slot 44 is only slightlygreater than the width of the lower half of-the upstanding tongue 39. A.slidable arm 45 is mounted on one side of the restriction bracket of theslidable arm 45 of the restriction bracket 4| alternately as the camdisk 23 is rotated. In

other words, with each half rotation of the cam disk 23, one of the pins46 will cause the restriction bracket 4|, to be pushed down to lowered.position temporarily, but as soon as the pin moves out of engagementwith the arm 45 the spring 42 will cause the restriction bracket 4! toreturn to normal raised position. The cam disk 23 and the crank disk 29-are both mounted on the same shaft 2| and rotate in unison. The crankpin 20' of the crank disk 26 produces the longitudinal movement of thefeed blade I] as previously mentioned. The crank pin 26' is so arrangedwith respect to the pins 46 that when the crank pin 29' moves into thehorizontal plane of the shaft 2|, that is, when the feed blade reachesthe limit of its longitudinal movement in either direction,one of thepins 46 will engage the arm 45 and push the restriction bracket 4| intolowered position.

In Figure 5 the restriction bracket 4| is shown in normal raisedposition. In Figure 6 one of the pins 46 has been moved into engagementwith the arm. 45 and has pushed the restriction bracket 4| into loweredposition. The effect of this change of position of the restrictionbracket 4| will now be explained.

Referring to Figures 6 and 10, when the restriction bracket 4| is inlowered position with the wide portion of the tongue 39 of the stitchcontrol lever 36 extending through slot 44, the rear of the stitchcontrol lever 36 will be held against oscillation or reciprocal movementsideways. Consequently, the rotation of the cam wheel 32 will producegreater oscillation of the other end of the stitch control lever 39 fromwhich the tongue 38 extends and thus will produce greater oscillation ofthe feed blade But when the restriction bracket 4| is in the normalraised position shown in Figures 5 and 9 with only the narrow topportion 49 of the tongue 39 extending through slot 44, the rear end ofthe stitch control'lever 36 will be moved sideways by the cam wheel 32before the forward end of the stitch control lever 36 is moved, andconsequently the subsequent oscillationof the forward end or tongue 38will be reduced. Thus when the restriction bracket 4| is pushed to thelowered position of Figure 10, the feed blade will be oscillated in awider path than when the restriction bracket 4| is in the normal raisedposition of Figure 9. Since the restriction bracket 4| is pushed tolowered position when the feed blade I! reaches the end of itslongitudinal movement in either direction, the increased oscillation ofthe feed blade H at such times results in the desired double lengthstitches at each end of the buttonhole,

The principle on which my invention operates will be clear from Figures9 and 10. In Figure 10 the pivotal point of the stitch control lever 36is the rear end of the lever. In Figure 9 the actual pivotal point isfirst located at the front end and then moves to the rear end when therear end is temporarily held against further lateral movement in thesame direction, Consequently, as previously explained, under this lattercondition, the period during which the front end moves is reduced andthe extent of movement of the front end of the lever 36 iscorrespondingly reduced.

In the finished buttonhole shown in the cloth I 4 in Figure 1, thisdesired double length stitch is indicated at e at each end of thebuttonhole, and the normal narrower intermediate zig-zag stitching alongthe two sides of the buttonhole which takes place when the restrictionbracket is in raised position is indicated at 1 on both sides of thebutton hole,

If it is desired to dispense with the double length stitching 2 at theends of the buttonhole, all that is necessary is to push the adjustmentlug 41 of the arm 45 (Figures 1, 4 and 7) forward so that the rear endof the arm will not be engaged by the pins 38. On the other hand, if itis desired to perform double width stitching only, for example, inmending or patching, instead of the usual buttonhole stitching, this canbe done by pushing the adjustment lug 47 all the way back under ashoulder 48 (Figure 1) in the side of the frame which will then keep therestriction bracket continually in lowered position.

Various modifications could be made in my attachment within the scope ofmy invention and without departing from the main principle of providingmeans for changing the pivotal point of the stitch control lever or someequivalent member mounted for lateral oscillation and connected to thefeed blade so as to modify the amount of the lateral oscillationimparted to the feed blade.

I claim:

1. In a buttonho-le attachment for a sewing machine, a feed blademounted for longitudinal and lateral movement, means for moving saidfeed blade longitudinally in alternate directions, a stitch controllever connected with said feed blade, cam means for producing lateraloscillation of said stitch lever and therewith of said feed blade, arestriction bracket associated with one end of said lever, an engagingelement on said restriction bracket for holding said end of said leveragainst oscillation when said bracket is in full engaging position,whereby to increase the amount of oscillation of the opposite end ofsaid lever and therewith the amount of oscillation of said blade, andmeans for moving said bracket into full engaging position whenever saidblade reaches the end of its longitudinal movement in either direction.

2. In a buttonhole attachment for a sewing machine, a feed blade mountedfor longitudinal and lateral movement, means for moving said feed bladelongitudinally in alternate directions, a stitch control lever connectedwith said feed blade, cam means for producing lateral oscillation ofsaid stitch lever and therewith of said feed blade, a restrictionbracket associated with one end of said lever, an engaging element onsaid restriction bracket for holding said end of said lever again-stoscillation when said bracket is in full engaging position, whereby toincrease the amount of oscillation of said blade, means connected withsaid first mentioned means for moving said bracket into full engagingposition whenever said blade reaches the end of its longitudinalmovement in either direction, and a spring acting normally to hold saidbracket out of full engaging position when said blade is in intermediatelongitudinal position.

3. In a buttonhole attachment of the character described, a feed blademounted for longitudinal and lateral movement, a stitch control leverlocated above said feed blade, the forward end of said lever connectedwith said feed blade, an upstanding tongue at the rear end of saidlever, a restriction bracket located above said lever, said brackethinged at its forward end for up and down movement, a cross bar on saidbracket, said cross bar having a slot, the length of said slotcorresponding approximately to the width of said upstanding tongue,whereby said bracket will prevent oscillation of the rear end of saidlever when said bracket engages said upstanding tongue, a springnormally holding said bracket out of engagement with said upstandingtongue, a cam wheel engaging said lever between the forward and rearends of said lever and adapted to produce lateral oscillation of saidlever, means for moving said blade longitudinally in alternatedirections, associated means for pushing said bracket into loweredposition whenever said blade reaches the end of its longitudinalmovement in either direction, whereby the pushing of said bracket tolowered position will cause greater lateral oscillation of the forwardend of said lever and of said blade.

4. In a buttonhole attachment for a sewing machine, a feed blade mountedfor longitudinal and lateral movement, a stitch control lever locatedabove said feed blade, means associated with the forward end of saidlever connected with said feed blade, an upstanding tongue at the rearend of said lever, the upper portion of said tongue being of less widththan the lower portion, a restriction bracket located above said lever,said bracket hinged at its forward end for up and down movement, a crossbar on said bracket, said cross bar having a slot, the length of saidslot corresponding approximately to the width of the lower portion ofsaid upstanding tongue, whereby said bracket will prevent oscillation ofthe rear end of said lever when said bracket engages the lower portionof said upstanding tongue, 2, spring normally holding said bracket outof engagement with the lower portion of said upstanding tongue, a camwheel engaging said lever between the forward and rear ends of saidlever and adapted to produce lateral oscillation of said lever, ahorizontal rotating shaft located to the rear of said lever and bracket,a crank means connected with said shaft for producing longitudinalmovement of said feed blade in alternate directions, a pair ofbracket-engaging elements connected with said shaft and so arranged asto engage said bracket alternately and push said bracket tolowered'position whenever said crank mean-s has moved said blade to theend of its longitudinal path in either direction, whereby the pushing ofsaid bracket to lowered position will cause greater lateral oscillationof the forward end of said lever and of said blade.

5. In a buttonhole attachment for a sewing machine, a feed blade mountedfor longitudinal and lateral movement, a slot extending longitudinallyin said feed blade, 'a stitch control lever located above'said feedblade, a downwardly extending tongue on the forward end of said leverextending into aid slot in said feed blade, an upstanding tongue at therear end of said lever, the upper portion of said tongue being of lessWidth than the lower portion, a restriction bracket located above saidlever, said bracket hinged at its forward end for up and down movement,a cross bar on said bracket, said cross bar having a slot, the length ofsaid slot corresponding approximately to-the width of the lower portionof said upstanding tongue, whereby said bracket will prevent oscillationof the rear end of said lever when said bracket engages the lowerportion of said upstanding tongue, a spring norrnally holdingsaid'bracket in raised position so that only the upper narrower portionof said upstanding tongue will extend through said slot, a slidable armon said bracket, an adjustment lug on said arm, a cam wheelengaging saidlever between the forward and rear ends of said lever and adapted toproduce lateral oscillation of said lever, a horizontal rotating shaftlocated to the rear of said lever and bracket, crank means connectedwith said shaft for producing longitudinal movement of said feed bladein alternate directions, a disk mounted on said shaft, a pair ofbracket-engaging elements carried by said disk and so arranged as toengage the end of said bracket arm when said arm has been adjusted so asto extend beyond the rear end of said bracket and push said bracket tolowered position whenever said crank means has moved said blade to theend of its longitudinal path in either direction, whereby the pushing ofsaid bracket to lowered position will cause greater lateral oscillationof the forward end of said lever and of said blade.

6. In a buttonhole attachment for a sewing machine, a feed blade mountedfor longitudinal and lateral movement, a slot extending longitudinallyin said feed blade, a stitch control lever located above said feedblade,a downwardly extending tongue on the forward end of said leverextending into said slot in said feed blade, an upstanding tongue at therear end of said lever, a restriction bracket located above said lever,said bracket hinged at its forward end for up and down movement, a crossbar on said bracket, said cross bar having a slot, the length of saidslot corresponding approximately to the width of aid upstanding tongue,whereby said bracket will prevent oscillation of the rear end of saidlever when said bracket engages said upstanding tongue, a springnormally holding said bracket out of engagement with said upstandingtongue, a lidable arm on said bracket, an adjustment lug on said arm, acam wheel engaging said lever between the forward and rear ends of saidlever and adapted to produce lateral oscillation of said lever, ahorizontal rotating shaft located to-the rear of said lever and bracket,crank means connected with said shaft for producing longitudinalmovement of said feed blade in alternate directions, a pair ofbracket-engaging elements connected with said shaft and so arranged asto engage the end of said bracket arm when said arm has been adjusted soas to extend beyond the rear end of said bracket and push said bracketto lowered position whenever said'crank means has moved said blade tothe end of its longitudinal path in either direction, whereby thepushing of said bracket to low ered position will cause greater lateraloscillation of the forward end of said lever and of said blade, andmeans for manually locking said arm and said bracket permanently inlowered position JAMES HICKEY.

